Notes

February 28, 2013

Pizzazz! Divine! The 2012 movie "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel," which just came out on DVD a few days ago, has really taken me back into the milieu inhabited by Richard Avedon during the years that I assisted him, 1952-1965. To watch this documentary, made from period clips, is to understand a great deal more about the world he moved in. There are interviews with him, and clips from the 1957 feature film "Funny Face," loosely based on his life — in which the imaginary role of Avedon was played by Fred Astaire and that of Diana Vreeland by Kay Thompson.

February 24, 2010

Long before there was a Hollywood there was a thriving movie business in and around, of all places, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the largest film studios in the world operated there between 1910 and 1916. Originally located in the city proper, Lubin Studios later expanded to a 350-acre spread at Betzwood next to the Schuykill River and adjacent to what is now Valley Forge National Park, just a few miles down the road from my home. Despite its size and immense output of over 100 films, this has long since fallen into the dustbin of history. So imagine my surprise when I recently heard of this heritage on a local TV talk show as I was waiting for another program to begin. Click on photo to enlarge.

One man, Joseph Eckhardt, a retired professor of history at Montgomery County Community College, changed all that. His book, King of the Movies, traces the history of one Siegmund Lubin (1851-1923), a colorful character if ever there was one. At once a pirate, a prophet, a con-man, a philanthropist, and a successful capitalist, Lubin was one of the very first movie pioneers. His story makes for some engrossing reading.

A MYSTERY SOLVED:

Joe’s book also solves another perplexing mystery that has haunted the Valley Forge National Park’s administrators for decades. We were all taught that no battle was ever fought there; that it was just a winter encampment for George Washington’s army during the Revolutionary War. But how to explain the authentic Civil War artifacts that have occasionally turned up on the property? Bullets, pieces of guns, uniform belt buckles? Was a Civil War battle ever fought here? Not according to the record. Well, it seems that Lubin made several Civil War films at this location, and had purchased surplus gear from the 1860s — which was readily available and cheap at the time — to use as props in his productions of the 1910s. And didn’t clean up the “battlefield” afterwards.

THE KILLER FILM:

A serious problem facing those restoring Lubin’s movies, or any others from that era, is the explosive nature of nitrate film. Yes, this stuff can ignite itself as it deteriorates from age, burns furiously, and can actually explode under the right conditions! Later replaced with “safety film” (which cannot burn), nitrate film had to be handled with due care, and required fireproof projection booths to protect audiences. As the film decomposed from age it also lost much of the image detail, making modern restorations difficult and sometimes impossible. A 1914 nitrate-film fire at Lubin’s Philadelphia studio destroyed the original negatives for several unreleased movies, nearly bankrupting the company.

August 28, 2009

A recent viewing of the 2005 movie “Capote” brought back memories of an odd chapter in Dick Avedon’s career. It was in April 1960 that Dick traveled alone to Garden City, Kansas, for a meeting with author Truman Capote (1924-1984), who was there researching material for a fact-based novel about one of the most savage multiple murders in American history. The final result, published in serial form in The New Yorker magazine in September 1965 and as a book in January 1966, was entitled In Cold Blood.

Dick’s connection with Truman Capote went back to their early 1959 collaboration on Observations, a handsome book of photography and prose. I was away in the Army at that time, but upon returning to civilian life at the end of the year was given an autographed copy by Dick as we discussed the possibility of my working for him once again, which I did.

Avedon’s role in this strange 1960 undertaking, a self-imposed assignment, was to do portraits of everyone involved, from the police to the murderers themselves, and to capture the atmosphere of the crime scene. This he did without assistance using just his Rolleiflex TLR and 35mm Pentax cameras. The image to the right is Avedon's portrait of one of the murderers, Richard Hickock, taken in the Kansas jail on April 15, 1960.

How would these strange New Yorkers be received in small town Kansas? Well, Capote was there some four months earlier with fellow writer Harper Lee so the locals were already used to his eccentricities and had come to accept him. Avedon by contrast was so “normal” that he could almost have passed off as a Kansan himself.

Upon Dick's return to New York I developed the film and made prints from the negatives. Those images of the two murderers have haunted me ever since. The story goes like this: Two drifters meet in jail and are soon released on probation; they plan to rob an isolated Kansas farmhouse of a rumored fortune in cash, liquidating the entire family to make sure there are no witnesses. The brutal slaughter of the Clutter family was carried out on November 15, 1959. Ironically, there was little money, and the murderers left almost empty handed. In January of 1960 they were apprehended in Las Vegas and brought back to Kansas for trial.

Capote’s interest begins after reading a small article about the crime in the back pages of the New York Times in November 1959. At first he planned only a short story but after getting to know the jailed murderers decides on a full major work. An agreement with his publisher is reached by April 1960, when he asks his friend Avedon to meet him in Kansas to make a photographic record of the events.

Dick’s involvement only lasted a few days, but Truman lingered on in hopes of getting critical anecdotal information from the accused for his book. The trial was soon held, resulting in a guilty verdict and a sentence of death by hanging. Capote, by now strangely attracted to one of the murderers, Perry Smith (police mug shot, right), funds their appeals — a process that drags on for five years. Finally, all appeals exhausted, on April 14, 1965 both are hanged, with Capote as an official witness at the gallows.

At last, Capote could finish his book.

Quickly completed, the book gave birth to a new style of literature in which the lines between fact and fabrication are blurred. In Cold Blood is neither reportage nor fiction, but a hybrid in which truth is embellished for dramatic effect.

During the interim Capote, who had little or no knowledge of photography, purchased a Rolleiflex camera identical to the ones Dick used and asked him to teach him to use it. This task was given to me, and I spent a few sessions instructing the author.

By September of 1965 the book had been edited and typeset. Capote dropped off the complete set of galley proofs at Avedon’s studio and left them there overnight. Fascinated, I stayed nearly all night reading the text.

In Cold Blood was serialized in The New Yorker magazine beginning on September 25th, printed as a book later that year, and released in early January 1966. It soon became a best seller and has gone through numerous editions ever since. On January 7, 1966, LIFE magazine published a major article entitled “Horror Spawns a Masterpiece,” illustrated with Avedon’s photos from that trip to Kansas in April 1960. Some of these same photos later appeared in various museum exhibitions, and in Avedon’s 1994 book Evidence.

The movie version of In Cold Blood opened in 1967 to critical acclaim, but it could not halt Capote’s downward spiral into drug addiction and alcoholism brought on primarily by the emotional stresses of the whole affair. He died in 1984.

In 2003 Avedon helped coach actor Philip Seymour Hoffman in his portrayal of Truman Capote in the movie Capote, mostly in getting the gestures and voice right. Unfortunately, Dick never saw that film as he died in 2004, months before it was completed.

In this film the brief role of Dick Avedon (screen shot, above) was marred by a serious error involving the camera Dick supposedly used, a Hasselblad (screen shot, right). Dick never used a Hasselblad until much later in his career. His portraits of the murderers and others involved were all taken with a Rolleiflex 2.8E. Also, the Hasselblad in the film lacks a sunshade, a big no-no, and it was a model not even available at that time. His method of softly manipulating the subjects does seem genuine, however.

The following year, 2006, Infamous, another film on the same subject as Capote and covering pretty much the same story, was released. Infamous is somewhat more violent and more explicit in the sexual attraction Truman Capote felt for the condemned murderer Perry. Although the 2006 film does not even mention Avedon, it does have actors playing the roles of some of Dick’s closest friends.

Photography's Golden Age ended long ago but remains very much alive in my memory. From 1952 through 1965 I was an assistant to Avedon during his most creative period. Do I ever have the stories to tell! Now, near the end of 2015, is the time to reveal all, while I'm still alive and kicking. Tales of personalities, motivations, intrigues, and even the fine details of how it was done.

What I need to make this project a reality is a co-conspirator to aid in getting the whole, true, uncensored story published -- either as a book, an e-book, or even a documentary.

August 07, 2009

Way back in the late 1960s and early 1970s I got smitten with the movie bug and experimented with the idea of making travel productions for use on cable TV. This never really panned out, and the results have been sitting in a closet ever since. Until now. Two weeks ago, feeling a bit flush, I took one reel of about 250 feet to the local chain drugstore to be scanned and converted to DVD format for viewing on a TV or computer. The total cost was about $50, and well worth the joy of once again reliving a fun trip we made in 1970 to do fashion photos in Jamaica for McCall's Magazine. Here are some still capture frames that are not very sharp, but fun anyway.

The above frames depict fashion designer Giorgio di Sant' Angelo with models Zaki and Pia; the three on a donkey cart being photographed by my partner, Jim Houghton; Jamaican tourist official Marcia Robinson on a donkey; and photographer Jim Houghton.

And here is a very short excerpt from the video. It looks pretty awful, but we had fun that week:

CLICK the left button to start the show. The center slider adjusts volume. For full screen size, as soon as the first image appears, right-click on it, then on Zoom, then on Full Screen. NOTE that the full, 12-minute DVD, when viewed on a TV set, is MUCH sharper than what you see here.

July 31, 2009

People either hate or love this hypnotic 1961 movie — there is no middle ground. It has long been regarded by some as the highest of high art, by others as the most pretentious p.o.s. ever made. Until now, there was little possibility of checking it out for yourself as it was only available on a badly-made VHS tape or the even worse DVD derived from that tape. BUT NOW (summer 2009) the good folks at Criterion have fully restored it on a stunning two-disc set with beautiful, haunting images composed with rich, silky blacks and luminous whites. Fans of black-and-white photography will thrill to the tonalities here, even if the plot escapes them. Reminiscent of 1930's fashion photography (think Chanel), it features exquisite lighting and careful compositions. All of the dialog is in French with English subtitles, and the original name of the film is L' Année dernière à Marienbad.

The story, such as it is, depends completely on the viewer's imagination and participation as a co-author. You only get out of it what you put in. If, like me, you are content with absorbing waves of gorgeous images enhanced by an appropriate musical score, you won't need a plot. Otherwise, it might go something like this: Character X, a handsome male member of Europe's idle rich, meets Character A, a stunning young lady at an unnamed aristocratic spa rich in baroque décor (photo, above). He tries to convince her that they met before, possibly last year, at another spa, perhaps Marienbad (now Mariánské Lázne), and they possibly had an affair. Enter Character M, who might be A's husband, or lover, or not. An allegorical game, at which M could lose but never does, may or may not play a pivotal role.

Past and present, memory and reality, fact and fiction are juxtaposed without transition or explanation. So, it's up to the viewer to make some sense out of it, or just lay back and let the haunting images wash all over you.

I saw this film at a small art house in Greenwich Village on, I believe, West 8th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues, in 1961 or possibly '62. Soon after that I purchased a book (photo, left) of the text for the film for the princely sum of $1.95. Although quite battered, I still treasure it.

Finding myself in Munich a few years later, I visited Schloss Nymphenburg, where much of the 1960 filming was done, especially the famous scene in the gardens (photo, below) in which the trees, statues, and other fixtures cast no shadows while the people cast long ones. How this was done is quite simple; it was shot at high noon and the actor's shadows were painted on the walkways. Obviously, the actors could not move, and the scene is quite short. At the time I was playing with a new toy, a Fuji Single 8 movie camera loaded with grainy black-and-white film, attempting to capture some of the old magic.

The new (2009) Criterion set contains a second disc featuring recent interviews with director Alain Resnais and others, a half-hour "making of" documentary, a critical analysis, and two short earlier films by the same director.

July 27, 2009

Just a few weeks ago I purchased a tiny Flip Video Camera from Amazon.com at a very attractive price. This was a completely whimsical move as I thought that anything this small and simple could only be a toy. To my surprise, it actually produces good-quality images and quite decent sound when played back on a computer or TV set.

About the size of a small cell phone, it easily fits in a shirt pocket. There are virtually no controls, just a start/stop button and a little bit of digital zoom. For super steadiness, however, there is a conventional tripod socket. An internal USB plug connects it to a computer, and there is an output jack for viewing on a TV set. It is amazingly sensitive in low light situations. The built-in microphone however is only really effective at short range — conversations ten feet or so away just become background buzz.

One problem with the ultra-compact design is the lack of a viewfinder. Both aiming, composing, and keeping track of whether it is actually recording, the length in seconds of scenes, when it has stopped recording, and the amount of available memory left are all displayed on the rear LCD screen. This can be difficult to see in bright light situations. I have experimented with using the Hoodman attachment to my Fuji digital still camera to overcome this. It works well, but is a bit clumsy. The photo on the right is me pointing the Flip into a mirror. I cropped the sides off to fit the space.

The real beauty of this tiny camera is that it can always be with you, ready to instantly record life's little adventures— those unexpected events that just pop up without warning. Its close-focus and low-light capabilities make it ideal for taking notes, complete with sound and color. And if it ever goes "dead," it can be revived by inserting fresh AA batteries, available everywhere.

To find out more about it, click on its name just under its picture in the box below. Be aware that there are several different models at different prices and with different capabilities, but this link will let you check out each one by navigating and clicking. You should also check the various comments and star ratings given to it on the Amazon site by users.

NEWS! Another similar camera with more advanced features has been announced by Kodak. Although not available until September 1, 2009, it can be checked out by clicking on its name (not the buy button) in the box below:

June 23, 2009

After a 74-year run, Kodak's classic color film is being retired. For good. And with honors. I will miss it.

This, even though I haven't used any in nearly three decades.

Kodachrome images of my childhood from the late 1930s still survive with all their bright, saturated colors intact. I grew up with this stuff in the 1940s and 50s, and used vast quantities of it during my previous career as a professional photographer. Photos I took of Japan during my stint in the U.S. Army from 1957 through 59 are as good today as the day they were taken, long after slides on other color films have faded.

To fully appreciate Kodachrome's incredible quality and its impact on the world of images you must dig a little into the history of color photography. Although experiments in adding hues to photos began in the 1840s, the first commercially viable process was Autochrome, invented by the Lumìere brothers of France in 1903. This was soon followed by another French system, Dufaycolor, in 1908. Both were "additive" processes made up of microscopic bits of solid colors deposited on a glass plate. By 1932 these emulsions became available on a flexible film base, suitable for use in movies and regular amateur cameras. While the resultant photos could be quite lovely, they fell apart when substantially enlarged as the individual color dots became apparent. The glass plates also required a great deal of exposure and were difficult to view.

In the mid-1920s two professional musicians who were long fascinated by the idea of color photography, violinist Leopold Godowsky Jr. and pianist Leopold Mannes, met an important scientist employed by Kodak. He arranged for them to be financed in their experiments, which by 1930 had led to a viable two-color movie film. They then became employees of Kodak and by 1935 had perfected Kodachrome, a three-color "subtractive" process that consisted of three Black & White emulsion layers, each representing a primary color. These were then dyed during development. This singular fact is what has for 74 years given Kodachrome such pure colors and such longevity. It also made Kodachrome incredibly complex to process, a service that for years could only be done by Kodak itself, and later by only a few laboratories.

The new Kodachrome was first marketed in 1935 in the 16mm home movie format, and in 1936 in 8mm as well as in 35mm and 828 roll-film sizes for amateur still photography (photo, left). Later it also became available as 120 roll film and 4x5 sheet film for professional use. Initially it had a "speed" equivalent of ISO 8 in today's terms, but later versions had "speeds" of 25, 40, 64, and 200.

One frame of 35mm Kodachrome, when digitally scanned, contains the equivalent of 20 megapixels of data, resulting in an exceptionally high-definition image suitable for considerable enlargement. This, and the purity of its colors, is why it became a favorite among professional photographers.

Over the years, however, other color films by Kodak, Agfa, Fuji and others had improved to the point of being almost (but not quite!) as good. These could be easily processed by the user or by small local labs. Consequently, Kodachrome sales declined — and then came the digital revolution. Yesterday, on June 22 2009, Kodak announced that no more will be made and that current stocks should last until about Fall of this year. Processing will be available until the end of 2010.

So, thank you, Kodachrome, for all the wonderful color you brought into our lives.

June 16, 2009

Some movies were never destined for greatness, yet remain highly enjoyable and can be watched over and over again, only getting better with age. Such is the case with Funny Face, a 1957 flick inspired by Richard Avedon’s photographic career. Although only 32 at the time, Dick was already famous as the star photographer for Harper’s Bazaar magazine. So it was only natural that Hollywood director Stanley Donen based his fashion-fantasy musical on Avedon, even though the resemblance was more in spirit than in fact.

Avedon was hired by Paramount as a consultant on the film, and also had quite a bit to say about which stars would appear in it. He once commented on Fred Astaire playing the role of fashion photographer “Dick Avery” by saying “It’s all very strange. I’d learned how to be me by pretending to be him and then I had to teach him to pretend to be me.” Astaire was Avedon’s childhood idol, so it was no surprise that the dancer was chosen for the part despite being some thirty years older than his co-star Audrey Hepburn in the romantic comedy.

Funny Face began in 1927 as a Broadway Musical starring Fred and Adele Astaire, with music by George and Ira Gershwin. Although the 1957 movie had a completely different story line, both the spirit, the title, and four of the songs are taken directly from the Broadway show.

CLICK on photos to see them supersized

In a previous entry I described our 1955 trip to San Francisco to do a cosmetic ad for Helena Rubinstein featuring supermodel Suzy Parker with the Dave Brubeck Quartet. A second, and more important, part of that trip was a meeting between Avedon and movie director Stanley Donen (born 1924) about a proposed romantic musical comedy inspired by the former’s life in fashion photography. As a result of this meeting I drove Dick and his wife Evie along with Donen and his wife, actress Marion Marshall, to the Hearst Castle at San Simeon for further discussions.

Since Dick was associated with the Hearst Corporation as a result of his work for Harper’s Bazaar, he had wangled an invitation to use the castle for the meeting. William Randolph Hearst was already dead and the family seldom used the place, which they later gave to the State of California as a tourist attraction. The photo above was taken by Stanley Donen in the castle, showing Avedon (standing), me (seated, puffing on pipe), and Mrs. Donen. During the first hours there, Dick shot some historic pictures of the estate to present to the Hearst family.

As an accomplished film director, Stanley Donen was most intrigued by this estate being the “real” home of Citizen Kane, a classic 1941 movie by Orson Welles that had been removed from circulation years earlier for legal and financial reasons, as it was thought to portray Hearst in a scandalous light. None of us had ever seen it, and Donen — especially — thought that, perversely, a print just might be hidden away in the estate’s theater. We searched the projection room, but no such luck.

After discussions had reached an agreement, I drove our whole gang south to Los Angeles, dropping them off in Bel Air. From there I drove to Beverly Hills, where I stayed for two days before flying back to New York with the precious film from the San Francisco sitting.

Despite the disparity in ages, Avedon insisted on having his idol Fred Astaire play opposite his muse, Audrey Hepburn. This actually worked out very well and he fit the part better than any other male dancer including the obvious first choice, Gene Kelly. The screenplay was written by Avedon’s friend, playwright Leonard Gershe (1922-2002).

The story, such as it is, opens with a scene in the New York offices of "Quality," a fictitious slick fashion magazine obviously based on Harper's Bazaar. The head fashion editor, "Maggie Prescott" (photo, left), played wonderfully by Kay Thompson, is a dead ringer for Bazaar's very own Diana Vreeland. After dictating that all the world's women wear pink, she confides that she herself "wouldn't be caught dead in it." Her next inspiration was to depict intellectual women wearing smart designs by leading designers.

For this the whole gang, "Maggie," her fawning assistants, photographer "Dick Avery," and the model "Marion," played by real model Dovima, race down to Greenwich Village and invade a dusty bookstore specializing in odd works by obscure philosophers. The store clerk, "Jo Stockton," played by Audrey Hepburn, appears in the corner of one of the pictures. Back at the office, "Avery" suggests that "Jo" has real charm and would make a great model, despite her "funny face." Later, "Avery" does a song-and-dance in the darkroom with her (photo, left), convincing her that she should go to Paris with them.

So it's off to Paris with "Jo," whose real motivation in going is to meet with her idol, "Professor Emile Flostre" and discuss his theories of "Empathicalism." Arriving at Orly Airport (photo, right), they each take off on their own to see the town before settling down to modeling and photography. This results in wonderful scenes, great music, and some stunning split-screen cinematography.

Then it's down to work photographing the creations of couturier "Paul Duval," a character based on real-life Hubert de Givency — who actually designed all of Audrey Hepburn's Paris costumes (photo, left). But "Jo" was more interested in meeting "Professor Flostre," leading her to overlook some of her responsibilities, such as being there when needed. This leads "Dick" and "Maggie" to pose as beatniks and tear around the Latin Quarter in a strange little car (photo, right) in search of "Flostre" and "Jo." Turns out that "Flostre" is interested in more than philosophy, and "Jo" realizes what a mess she's gotten herself into. After a song-and-dance routine (photo, below), "Maggie" and "Dick" rescue her, "Dick" and "Jo" fall in love, and everything heads to a romantic, happy ending.

Of course, all of this is silly fluff — but that's exactly what makes it so much fun!

Being a major production from Paramount, Funny Face was shot entirely in their proprietary VistaVision process. This high-resolution widescreen system used conventional 35mm motion picture film stock, running horizontally rather than vertically, with an 8-sprocket image measuring a wide 18.3mm x 36mm. It was developed by Paramount in 1954 to compete with CinemaScope, which used an anamorphic lens to compress widescreen images onto a conventional 4-sprocket 35mm frame running vertically, with an image size of 18.6mm x 21.95mm. VistaVision was quite superior in picture quality but expensive to produce as it used twice as much film stock. It also required a lot of light to maintain depth-of-field, as the larger image size needed longer focal-length lenses and consequently smaller f/stops to keep both foreground and background in common focus. Another drawback was the reluctance on the part of theater owners to purchase the special projectors needed. Paramount overcame this by making compressed release prints that ran on conventional projectors equipped with anamorphic lenses.

Doing this resulted in loss of image quality, but it was still a bit better than rival systems. The last motion picture shot entirely in VistaVision was in 1961, after which Paramount switched to the anamorphic Panavision. VistaVision was still used for some special effects scenes until being replaced by digital imagery in the early 21st century.

Strangely, Funny Face was really an MGM movie produced and distributed by rival Paramount. MGM owned the rights to the story, and nearly all of the major creative staff including director Stanley Donen were under contract to them. Fred Astaire was freelancing at the time and owed Paramount a film. Hepburn was Paramount's most valuable star, so in no way would they release her to MGM. Consequently the whole project had to move over to Paramount, as Avedon was insistent on having both Astaire and Hepburn in "his" film.

Filming began in April 1956 and concluded that July. Prior to that time Dick made a trip to Hollywood in his role as consultant, and again when filming began. He also traveled to Paris in late April to oversee the location shooting there. The photo on the right shows him with Fred Astaire in the Tuileries with a strange French view camera, not the Deardorff he always used at the time. The TLR camera dangling from Astaire's neck isn't a Rolleiflex, either. Sadly, I was not present on any of these shooting days or on the later ones during June and July in Hollywood. The editing was done that Fall, with Avedon present in Los Angeles on October 19-20, November 10-11, and November 14-17; but by that time I had already been drafted into the U.S. Army. Dick wrote to me during basic training offering to arrange a private showing in New York before the premiere if I could get off, although I had to decline rather than go AWOL.

Funny Face was released on VHS Video tape in 1995, and again in 2001. That same year it was also released on DVD, and an improved 50th Anniversary DVD in 2007. In 2009 a 2-disc DVD set including many extras was released as part of the Paramount Centennial Collection.

NEW:

Photography's Golden Age ended long ago but remains very much in my memory. From 1952 through 1965 I was assistant to Richard Avedon during his most creative period, and do I have the stories to tell! Now, at the end of 2015, is the time to reveal all while I'm still alive and kicking. Tales of personalities, motivations, intrigues, and even the fine details of how it was all done.

What I need to make this project a reality is a co-conspirator to aid in getting the whole, true, uncensored story published -- either as a book, an e-book, or even a documentary. I am not interested in self-publishing.

February 03, 2008

I've recently discovered a DVD that spreads considerable light on the early days of the band, especially on their relationship with Syd Barrett. Although first issued in 2005, this newer 2007 two-disc edition contains several hours of additional raw, unedited material — most of which was left out of the initial documentary.

The stunning cover design by artist Mark Wilkinson, an image (above) right out of the psychedelic 1960s, sets the tone for this trip back in time.

This is truly a must-have for really devoted Floyd fans, although others may find that it contains more than they ever wanted to know. There are extensive interviews with band members Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Rick Wright — as well as with friends, managers, and lovers who were close to Syd. There are also clips from home movies, TV appearances, band posters, and other memorabilia along with a biography text.

The original documentary, on Disc One, is only 49 minutes long, but provides an exhilarating journey into the creation of their first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. The cover design (image, right) of that 1967 album truly belongs to the psychedelic era — back then even I had a prismatic camera lens attachment that did the same thing!

Syd Barrett (1946-2006) was really the heart and soul of the Pink Floyd. A founding member back in 1965, he gave it their distinctive musical direction as well as their name. Increasing mental instability along with his reported use of LSD led to his leaving the band in 1968, to be replaced by his friend David Gilmour. For the next few years he pursued a solo career, and then retired to his home in Cambridge. There he returned to his original art of painting, along with gardening, and there he died of cancer at age 60 on July 7, 2006.

CHECK OUT the DVD by clicking on its name in the box below, or on the Buy button to purchase:

November 23, 2007

Not only were The Who back again with a wonderful new album of fresh songs in the Fall of 2006, but just a year later they released a double-DVD set documenting their entire four-decades-long history.

This is not a performance video; in fact it mostly contains only brief snatches of music. Instead, it is a meticulously crafted story of the band and of each of its four original members, as recently told by Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, supplemented with earlier interviews with John Entwistle and Keith Moon — both of whom are sadly no longer with us. There are also informative pieces by other rockers including Sting, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, and The Edge of U2.

The history goes all the way back to the 1940s, with footage of the London Blitz and childhood photos of the band members, then goes on to cover the development of British popular music through the postwar years and into the 60s and 70s.

Also included is D.A. Pennebaker's film "Who's Back," documenting the 2003 recording of a song about Townshend's childhood by the two remaining members of the band. Filling in for the deceased ones are Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr) on drums and Greg Lake (of Emerson, Lake & Palmer fame) on bass guitar.

Another treat for fans is the inclusion of a long-lost film of a live performance in 1964 at the Railway Hotel Pub in North London, the earliest known performance footage of The Who — then known as the High Numbers.

There is also a three-disc version of this package, with the third disc showing part of a 1979 performance in Chicago. I have not seen it.

CHECK IT OUT by clicking on Amazing Journey in the box below, or clicking on Buy Button to purchase at Amazon.com: